HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN NIGERIAN TOWNS: A CASE OF IDAH, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper attempts to evaluate housing affordability in Idah, an old Local Government Headquarters in Kogi State. It utilized a structured questionnaire for this purpose. The result of the analysis of this questionnaire reveals among other things that, greater percentage of the people in the study areas spend above 30% of their monthly income on housing. This is at variance with the 30% affordability benchmark set by scholars such as Andrew( 1998 ), Cox and Pavletich 2010) as well as Adedeji(2006). The paper therefore concludes that the greater percentage of the people in the study area cannot afford adequate housing while others pay not just over 30% but over 50% of their monthly income on housing which is cost-burden. This has adverse effect on their standard of living as what is left is insufficient to cater for other needs such as food, clothing, and medical bills and so on. The paper finally made the necessary recommendations